Lover of God, nature, wildlife, birds, gardening, photography, travel, simple living, health, pets and seeking a peaceful, healing lifestyle. Life has many hurts and sorrows but within "the [divine] nature in us" we CAN overcome.

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Who's In Charge Of Your Thoughts?

by Donna L. Watkins

God help my thoughts! They stray from me, setting off on the wildest journeys ... They come to me for a fleeting moment, and then away they flee. No chains, no locks can hold them back; no threats of punishment can restrain them ... They slip from my grasp like tails of eels; they swoop hither and thither like swallows in flight. Dear, chaste Christ, who can see into every heart and read every mind, take hold of my thoughts. Bring my thoughts back to me, and clasp me to yourself. -- Celtic Prayer, "A Scholar's Wish"

Oh, how I can relate to that passage and used to feel helpless and hopeless as my thoughts turned a perfectly good day into one of despair.

As we work on renewing our minds, we must be careful not to add to our mind things that feed our soul (flesh), rather than our spirit. Our flesh gets pretty comfortable with being in control and isn't easily swayed to allowing the spirit to rule, so we have to be diligent about making the choice. How do we do that?

2 Cor. 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" [who is The Word of God - Jn 1:1, 14].

Here we have instruction on how to deal with our thoughts. We put up a STOP sign and say NO with all of our God-given free will. We are not to ask God to do it. He has told us to do it. We choose to dwell on the Truth of God, not idle and worthless chatter from our minds. Rom. 8:6 - "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."

Our minds will respond to being spirit-led if we meditate on The Word and renew it. When you first start it seems impossible, but it gets easier and you will get a real thrill out of it when you see how much power is within you to think what the mind of Christ thinks. I Cor. 2:16 says "we have the mind of Christ."

Isaiah 54:17 says that "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you ..."

So often we feel like we're being bombarded with thoughts from the devil, but most of the time our own thoughts condemn us enough that the devil doesn't have to bother. God no longer condemns us (Rom. 8:1 - "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus"), so we should follow His example.

Stop beating yourself up! It's a root to autoimmune diseases (the body attacking itself). Look in the mirror each day and say to yourself, "God loves me and I love me too!" It will feel odd for awhile but it can make a big change in the way you see yourself.

Copyright and Reprint Information

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins, but may be used with proper credit and link back to the website, TheNature InUs.com. Articles written by Donna L. Watkins can be reprinted with proper credit and link back to the website, TheNatureInUs.com.

Quotes

God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. -- Francis Bacon

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." – George Eliot - See more at: http://www.thenatureinus.com/#sthash.Rhtw3CRa.dpuf

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." – George Eliot - See more at: http://www.thenatureinus.com/#sthash.Rhtw3CRa.dpuf

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliott

"I've spent too long waiting for what's been taken from me, rather than enjoying what's been given to me." -- Unknown

“In God’s wilderness lies the hope of the world – the great fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and the wounds heal ere we are aware.” -- John Muir

"Faith is the bird that senses the light and sings while dawn is still dark." -- Rabindranath Tagore

"To know something about trees--about even one tree--is to know something profound about the nature of the world and our place in it." -- Gerald Jonas"I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out that there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is." -- Albert CamusLike winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher "standard of living" is worth its cost in things natural, wild and free. For us the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech. -- Aldo Leopold (1886-1948)

"It is clear that there is one main message creation has to communicate to human beings, namely, the glory of God. Not primarily the glory of creation, but the glory of God. The glory of creation and the glory of God are as different as the love poem and the love, the painting and the landscape, the ring and the marriage. It would be a great folly and a great tragedy if a man loved his wedding band more than he loved his bride." -- John Piper

"We will do better in all aspects of life if we learn to "let go" of all we hold so tightly to and realize that control is a myth and striving for it is insanity." -- Donna L. Watkins